Pope Francis made his first appointments Saturday to a special commission intended to signal the Vatican's new resolve in tackling clerical sexual abuse, a group that includes an equal number of women and men, more laypeople than clergy and an outspoken Irish activist who was abused by a priest as a child.

In recent months, Francis has been criticized by advocacy groups for abuse victims, especially after an interview in which he strongly defended the Roman Catholic Church's handling of the crisis. Last month, a U.N. commission issued a stinging report on the church's handling of abuse cases, and some advocacy groups have considered the pope's appointments to the commission a telling signal of his commitment to combatting the problem.

The eight names released Saturday suggested that Francis had deliberately shaken up the usual way of doing things at the Vatican: Four of the members are female, including Marie Collins, an Irish woman who was abused as a girl in the 1960s and later became a national activist to help other victims.

Collins said the commission's priorities should include requiring dioceses to report abuse to civil authorities, responding to victims with a pastoral and not an adversarial legalistic approach, and holding bishops who covered up the abuse accountable. "Until bishops who protected abusers are removed, it's very hard to have confidence," she said.

Among the three clergy members on the panel, the highest ranking is Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley of Boston, who has been a central figure in the church's response on the issue in the United States and is among eight cardinals advising Francis on Vatican reform.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a group founded in the United States, said the panel "perpetuates the self-serving myth that Catholic officials need more information about abuse and cover-ups." It added: "They don't. They need courage."